Prince George RCMP were out in force at the intersection of Highways 16 and 97 on Thursday, looking for distracted drivers.
While the final numbers won’t be known until later, officers were pulling over drivers and issuing tickets on a regular basis throughout the late morning and early afternoon, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said. March is Distracted Driving Month, and RCMP highway patrol and municipal traffic officers will be working with the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement and ICBC on a number of enforcement campaigns during the month, she said.
“We are still catching people. Mostly on their cellphones and texting,” Cooper said. “Leave your phone alone and eyes front. It’s not worth the risk.”
Those caught face at $368 fine and four demerits on their driver’s licence, she said.
While cellphones are the most common distraction, other electronic devices – including smart watches – eating, looking for items in the vehicle or being otherwise distracted can result in a ticket, she said.
ICBC road safety coordinator for northern B.C. Doug Mac Donald said an average of 76 fatalities per year in B.C. are linked to distracted driving, including an average of 14 per year in the north.
“You are five times more likely to be involved in a crash (when driving distracted),” Mac Donald said. “When you are driving and on your cellphone, you are missing about 50 per cent of what’s around you.”
Survey data shows that 90 per cent of people know that driving and using a cellphone is dangerous, but 42 per cent of people will still do it one in 10 times they drive, he said.
Many of the people caught by the RCMP holding their cellphones down below eye level while they texted at the intersection, he said. The RCMP had a spotter in a boom lift truck loaned to them from the City of Prince George located on a construction site near the intersection to catch the covert cellphone users.
Modern vehicles and modern drivers have so many distractions available, but paying attention to the road could save your life, the life of your passengers or the life of a stranger – a pedestrian, cyclist or other motorist, he said.
“People might think it’s not a big deal. ‘I’m at an intersection. I’m at a red light,’” Mac Donald said. “(But) it’s really not worth it.”
